Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Getting Ready for Splash Path 2015!




We hope everyone will join us this week for another delicious Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market at the Village Commons, Thursday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m.  There will be a bumper crop of fresh greens on sale for your dinner menus.

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This week, everyone at Pathfinder Village is getting excited about our upcoming Splash Path 5K Run and Fun Walk, which is set for Saturday, June 13.  Our Steering Committee and Vocational Program members have been reaching out to regional residents, employees and businesses to raise awareness of this fun event.  Proceeds from Splash Path help support the operating costs of our weekly Pathfinder Produce market and also support our vocational agriculture program at the Button Greenhouse and the 5210 Hoop House. 

Early online registration is now open(!), and the event is priced so that families may participate: Kids under 9 – Free; Youths (10-18) - $10; Adults (18+) - $20; and we offer a special Family rate for 3 or more family members of $45.  Early registration goes through May 29.  (After that date, the rates go up by $5; the maximum amount for families is $50). 

Splash Path offers an opportunity for people who enjoy running to take part in a paint run – the event features non-toxic colors, and if you register early, you get a neat tee shirt and safety glasses.  But it’s not only for people who are extremely fit – Splash Path welcomes people of all ages and fitness levels, and is a colorful way to celebrate physical activity and a sense of community, all against the beautiful backdrop of Pathfinder Village, here in Edmeston. 

The June 13 event starts with registration at the Pathfinder School Gym, at 9 a.m.; the run and walk will start with a color burst promptly at 10 a.m.  This year, to extend the Splash Path fun, we are offering an after run-walk event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring music by Andrea’s Karaoke/D.J. Dance Bash, and a chicken barbeque by KNK.  There will be vendor exhibits and an extensive silent auction/ticket auction with items from regional businesses and organizations.   If you’re interested in a vendor booth, please visit the Pathfinder Village website for more information.  If you are interested in donating a quality auction item, please email SplashPath@pathfindervillage.org .

Event sponsors to date include: Gates-Cole Associates, New Hartford; Gordon B. Roberts Agency, Oneonta; Manning & Napier Benefits, LLC, Fairport; NYCM Insurance, Edmeston; Preferred Mutual, New Berlin; Ryno Graphics, Edmeston; and Ted’s Body Shop; New Berlin.

Until next time, get moving and be well!

Lori  


 

Monday, April 20, 2015

Earth Day, Arbor Day & Screen Free Week

We hope everyone will join us at the Village Commons this week for another delicious Pathfinder Produce market, on Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m.  Our Vocational Program members are harvesting spring greens … what a great way to celebrate during the week of Earth Day!
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This Wednesday, April 22, people around the globe are celebrating the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Just as our community 5210 goals focus on helping people become healthier through behavior change, Earth Day reminds us that we may change our behavior to help our planet be healthier. To learn more about the history of the event, visit the Earth Day website.

I have vague recollections of the first Earth Day in 1970, which was an offshoot of the anti-war and civil rights movements.  Unfortunately, then as now, the news was full of stories on oil spills, toxic waste dumps, and choking smog; citizens grew concerned by the damage pollutants were causing and began to speak out.  These toxins first came to light through the 1962 best seller Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, and by the 1965 report, Contaminated and Natural Lead Environments of Man by the unsung hero, Clair Cameron Patterson.

Today’s Earth Day activities center on climate change and switching to renewable energies. While hyper-mileage cars and solar energy are not mainstream yet, there are small steps everyone can take now to make a difference.  Some good ways to go green are offered at The Art of Simple and 50 Ways to Help.  Gardening (sans synthetic chemicals) and eating vegetarian once a week tie right into conserving water and helping the planet.

The stewardship aspects of Earth Day are thematically linked with National Arbor Day, which is on Friday, April 24. Arbor Day was first celebrated in Villanueva de la Sierra, Spain, in 1805, as a response to Napoleon’s destructive tear through Europe. In 1872 Arbor Day was first celebrated in America; planting trees became a popular rite for school children in the early 20th century as part of President Roosevelt’s national conservation efforts. Today the Arbor Day movement has spread globally, and has even helped transform the lives of African women through the Green Belt Movement.

Looking ahead, May 4 through 10 is Screen Free Week, a time during which we should work towards unplugging from the electronic devices that are part of modern life.  Organizers suggest that people “play, read, daydream, create, explore, and connect with family and friends” during this week, and then try to continue screen –free activities as much as possible. The goal in reducing screen time is to encourage children to take part in physical activity and creative play; in truth, adults need to pursue these activities as well to stay fit and mentally alert.  And, although we can’t turn back the electronic clock, if we are more aware of our device dependence, we may also become more attuned to how the manufacturing and disposal of these gadgets affect our planet home.

Until next time, be well and enjoy the outdoors,

Lori

Monday, April 13, 2015

Eagles and Earthworms



We hope everyone will join us for the next Pathfinder Produce market at Pathfinder Village, Thursday, April 16, from 2 to 5 p.m.  We offer a great selection, including some freshly picked greens, and our prices can’t be beat!

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It was our family’s annual “Tractor Maintenance and Clean the Landmines from the Lawn” this past weekend, an informal rite of spring during which we assess how hard the winter was, consider what jobs need doing right away, and formulate work plans for future weekends. 

On Sunday, I found myself in the raised-bed garden, clearing out the accumulated debris of last year’s stalks.  It was simply a warm, glorious day with blue skies, the sounds of nature, and a light breeze.  On occasion I would look up from my work to the hills that rise to the west to see a bald eagle performing his seasonal work. He’s been hunting over our pond for about a week, and it’s been fascinating to watch (I assume it’s a he, but according to this website, it could be a female, as both parents share egg incubation and feeding duties). I believe it is the same pair as last year, which had a nest near where the Beaver Creek meets the Unadilla River.

As I worked, I would occasionally hear the sounds of alarmed Canadian geese and mallards, and then see pairs of waterfowl leaving hurriedly … I can only assume that the eagle made some unsuccessful dives at them.  It will be interesting to see if our resident varmint populations are affected by the eagles’ activities.

I was inspired to tackle the garden based on all the great work I’ve seen completed at Pathfinder’s Button Greenhouse by our vocational program members.  And although I thought I’d have a herculean job on my hands, it didn’t really take that long to get things looking better.  After examining the 4’x8’ rough-cut wooden frames we use for raised beds, I decided they were sturdy enough to use again.  I just needed to replace the nails that were pinning the corners where the boards had cupped, opting for some longer and sturdier screws for greater strength.

As I worked, I pulled out as many weed roots as possible, and it was good to see how many earthworms were working the soil, as they aerate plant roots and break down organic matter into nutrients plants need.  Earthworms are a sign of a healthy garden, and can even be used to increase the speed of composting vegetable scraps if one sets up a worm bin.  Click here to read more on vermiculture.  (As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t put animal-based food scraps into a compost pile if you intend to use the compost on vegetables).

I finished my work by placing some concrete pavers between the raised beds, to prevent extraneous plants from growing there.  Over the next week, I hope to beef up the soil in each bed by adding some bags of organic top soil.  I also hope to plant some cold-tolerant crops, like kale, spinach and radishes.  Tips for early season gardening are available at the websites for P. Allen Smith, and the Chicago Botanical Garden.

Until next time, enjoy your seasonal work and be well,

Lori

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Omega-3 for Me!



We hope everyone will join us at the Village Commons this Thursday, April 9, from 2 to 5 p.m. for our next Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market.  Spring is finally here(!) so why not celebrate by sharing some great produce and fresh tastes with your family.

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During a recent visit with my family nurse practitioner we hit upon the topic of foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.  Admittedly, I really don’t know much about omega-3 and thought I should learn more: These are substances that have been in the news for a few years, as they may help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), improve brain function, and have a role in preventing inflammatory diseases.

According to How Stuff Works, omega-3 fatty acids are vital polyunsaturated fats that are converted into more-complex fats in the body. The website says that omega-3s help regulate blood clotting and help cell growth.  Research continues on omega-3’s role in promoting heart health, helping arthritis, and preventing depression and improving memory.

Omega-3’s have “a somewhat evil twin” though, called omega-6 fatty acids, which according to HSW, promote inflammation and compete with omega-3s during metabolism. “The modern Western diet tends to be top-heavy with omega-6 acids, largely due to the reliance on refined vegetable oils both in homes and in the food industry,” says HSW.  It adds that corn oil, and other corn and grain products are high in omega-6.

Lucky for me, I enjoy plant foods that are rich in omega-3 fats: walnuts, flax seeds and wild rice (which is actually a grass not a grain). My practitioner recommended flax seeds as an ideal additive to breakfast cereal, and flax seed oil is super concentrated in omega-3s.  Less-expensive and more-widely available, canola oil is also very rich in omega-3s; according to the Readers’ Digest webpage, the Institute of Medicine recommends at least 1,100 mg a day for men and 1,600 mg for women.  Other food sources rich in omega-3s are listed at the Self Nutrition Data website, including basil and radish sprouts.

Plant-sourced omega-3s are typically alpha-linolenic acids (ALAs).  When consumed by animals, ALAs are converted into longer chained fats to be used during metabolism, eicosapentaenoic acids (EPAs) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHAs).  Humans don’t convert these fats efficiently (only about 5% are converted), so some folks choose to cut to the chase by eating animal-based sources of omega-3s, which include fish, fish oil, and grass-fed meat and poultry.  Grain-fed cows and chickens tend to create meats, dairy products and eggs that are higher in omega-6, thereby canceling out the benefits of the omega-3 content. An in-depth study on grain-fed vs. grass-fed beef can be found here at the Nutrition Journal website.

Until next time, read your nutritional labels and be well!

Lori